Why our buildings need more govt oversight

GURGAON/NOIDA: How safe are our buildings?
The tremors on Tuesday night that shook NCR and had people rushing out of their homes after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan left behind this lingering question among people living in the highrise-dense cities around the capital.

“Tuesday night was scary because the tremors were prolonged,” said Ashok Vardhan, a resident of Mahagun Mirabella in Noida. The tremors shook houses for nearly half a minute around 10.17pm and nervous residents who had evacuated to streets described it as the longest and strongest they had experienced.
“What I would like to know is how the structural safety of buildings is ensured,” added Vardhan, asking for more proactive government oversight of the structural anatomy of a building. Vardhan has a point.
Delhi-NCR is in seismic zone IV (categorised as high-risk) and buildings here must follow zonal specifications of the National Building Code (NBC). There is a system of vetting by experts as well. Typically, structural engineers prepare the layout and design of a building in line with the code’s specifications. This design is then vetted by an expert, like an IIT or NIT professor. The vetted layout is submitted to the government for approval. Once a project is completed, another round of vetting by an expert follows, after which it’s certified as fit for handover to buyers.
The process is a clearly defined one, but it’s also largely self-regulatory as developers pick the experts they go to. There is no specific oversight mechanism for a government body to check for compliance at various stages of construction.
Experts said governments should evolve a mechanism where its own engineers periodically visit a site during construction to scan for compliance with the code instead of relying solely on reports submitted by private structural engineers.
Navin Kumar Bhatnagar, former DIG of the National Disaster Response Force, said, “We all know the system can be managed to obtain certificates required for approvals. I am not saying that buildings are not adhering to the NBC, but there is a need to ensure that developers are complying with local building bylaws and the code through their own engineers. it is the responsibility of the state to ensure the safety of people’s lives.”
Questions on construction quality and the certification process came under intense scrutiny in Gurgaon last year after five flats caved in vertically at a tower in Chintels Paradiso, killing two residents. An audit by IIT-Delhi found construction quality of the affected tower was poor. There are 60 more societies for which audits either have been commissioned since or will be soon due to complaints from residents.
Vikas Bhalotia, a Gurgaon resident, said, “We don’t know whether the buildings we are living in have been vetted for earthquake-resistance by experts. Most residents are not even aware about the mechanism that government departments have to check whether a building is compliant with specifications of the NBC.”
Shudders after Paradiso
In Gurgaon, certification on earthquake compliance comes from private structural engineers and proof consultants, said a government official. “Just as occupation certificates (OCs) are issued to residential projects on the basis of a report prepared by private structural engineers, the earthquake resistance of the buildings is also validated by private structural engineers and proof consultants,” the official said.
Deepak Sahni, a structural engineer based in Delhi, said certification given by structural engineers is strictly based on provisions of the National Building Code. “Still, government engineers should physically visit a site and check the structure,” he said.
Abhay Shrivastava, former head of disaster management in Gurgaon, said, “The soil in Gurgaon is salty and hard, which is good support for buildings. But as we move towards Faridabad and the Yamuna side, the soil strength weakens and could prove disastrous for buildings if norms are not followed.” Before giving earthquake-resistance approval, he added, government engineers should take concrete and soil samples and get them tested. “If it fails the test, approval should not be given,” he said.
Gurgaon deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav told TOI, “We have already issued orders to authorities concerned to take note of buildings that are not in good shape. We are also conducting a drill and planning measures to ensure earthquake safety.”
Noida checks to get tighter
In Noida, the structural audit policy that will be implemented from April 1 will make compliance stronger for buildings that are yet to be issued OCs. When the policy comes into effect, developers will have to get a structural audit done from an empanelled agency to obtain the OC, which is different from the current process of structural vetting in which an expert picked by a developer goes through the report prepared by the structural engineer and gives an approval. IIT Kanpur and Central Building Research Institute-Roorkee have been empanelled for the audits.
Achal Kumar Mittal, chief scientist, (structural engineering), CBRI, stressed that local authorities must frame bylaws for new projects as new technologies develop. Mittal said structural engineers play a critical role in a project. “The Bureau of Indian Standards has recently formed a committee to define steps to be taken by the structural engineers for structural audits from an earthquake point of view,” added Mittal, who is a member of the committee.
Realtors said structural safety based on seismic zone specifications is a basic prerequisite for any project in the region. Amit Modi, president of Credai (Western UP), said, “NBC clearly defines how a building should be designed. We follow the latest guidelines in this regard.”
What an oversight system will do is ensure compliance with code specifications is homogenous, irrespective of the size of a project or how much a buyer is paying for it.